Actually I can add to that - was watching Supernanny last night and I've never seen anything like it. I like the program but it's so formulaic that I'd given up hope of seeing anything new on it. But no, one of the exchanges between mother and son was really quite upsetting:

Mother: The sooner you go to a home the better
Son: The sooner you die the better
Mother: I'm not going to die for ages

And her response to the son deliberately knocking over a glass of milk was to get her glass of milk and throw it over him.

Impressive language from the 3 yr old brothers too, obviously learnt from the parents. I certainly never knew the F word when I was 3!

Catherine

Oh dear! I see what you mean. Well, at least she's in China. That's how many thousand miles away?!?

I don't remember knowing the F word at such an early age, either. I remember pushing the boundaries at about 8, by saying sh*t (learnt from my older sister!). My sister held me down and my mother rubbed the soap into my mouth. A very harsh (and not very tasty!!) lesson! Evil buggers, the pair of them. They weren't always so mean, honest, lol!

BTW I am allowed to say the s word in front of mother now!

My parents never swore in front of me (or each other, although when my father thought no-one was listening he sometimes used fairly ripe language from his RAF days when muttering to himself over a difficult task!) so I only learned the F word from school - I'd never have dared use it in the house! My grandmother never used any language stronger than 'damn!' (very strong for her) so she was most put out when her budgie, a prime talker, started chirping very clearly 'Ooh you bugger!' One day my mother was in gran's house when gran pricked her finger with a sewing needle. 'Oooh you bugger!' she said without thinking. 'There you are,' said mum, 'that's where Bobby's got it from!' Gran was mortified because she was quite unaware she had been saying it every time she did something that annoyed her.

It always upsets me when I see parents using foul language to their children, being rude to them and pushing them around - then they wonder why their kids turn out to be foul-mouthed, ignorant ill-mannered yobs!

And I'm interested in what people feel about Jamie Oliver? Improving what goes into the mouth but not what comes out?

LOL Kelly!! I see what you mean about J.O. It would be nice to see him using nicer language and syntax in his programmes. I thought that the biggest module in Chef school was 'How to Swear' though. Mind you, at least he's starting somewhere. One step at a time. If children put nicer food into their bodies and improve their appearance as teenagers, the resulting increase in self-esteem might go some way to improve what comes out (in more ways than one!!!).

Hee hee, Kelly, good point (and great to see you back here - hope the login problems are sorted). Now I'm going to sound all hypocritical as I am a bit of a fan of Jamie Oliver. I've always liked his books but used to find him intensely annoying, particularly with the Sainsbury's adverts. There was always something that seemed very incongruent there!

But I really started to respect him when he did the school meals programmes as dishonest, unethical and unhealthy food is a real bugbear of mine (recommend reading "Not on the Label" and "Fast Food Nation" to anyone who will listen!). I don't for a minute think the way he talks is a good example for the kids. But in many cases, they talk like that anyway and if he gets them eating properly as well then it's a big step forwards. The better diet will also be likely to have an effect on their behaviour. The devil's advocate in me wonders how any other TV chef could have done the same thing - can you imagine Nigella Lawson going into inner-city comprehensives and trying to get them all to change their diet?! That might have worked better in a boys' public school - my husband would certainly have been all in favour!

Catherine